Light duty liquid cleaning compositions consisting of anionic surfactant mixtures

Abstract

A light duty liquid detergent with desirable cleansing properties to the human skin comprising a C8-18 ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfate anionic surfactant, a sulfonate anionic surfactant, and water.

What is claimed:  
     
       1. A clear microemulsion or nonmicroemulsion light duty liquid cleaning composition which consists of by weight: 
       (a) 10% to 45% of a mixture of an alkali metal salt of an anionic sulfonate surfactant and an alkali metal salt of a C.sub.8-C.sub.18 ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfate and/or a C.sub.8-C.sub.18 alkyl ether sulfate wherein the weight ratio of the sulfonate surfactant to the sulfate surfactant is from 15:1 to 1:1;  
       (b) 0% to 10% of an ethoxylated nonionic surfactant;  
       (c) 0.1% to 4% of a polyethylene glycol;  
       (d) 0 to 14% of a cosurfactant, wherein said cosurfactant is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycols having a molecular weight of 150 to 1000, polypropylene glycol of the formula HO((CH 3 )CHCH 2 O) n H, wherein n is 1 to 18, polyethylene and propylene glycol ethers and esters having the formula of R(X)nOH, R1(X)nOH, R(X)nOR, R(X)nOR1, R1(X)nOR and R1(X)nOR1 wherein R is a C1-6 alkyl group, R1 is a C1-6 acyl group, X is (OCH2CH2) or (OCH2CHCH3) and n is from 1 to 8 and mixtures thereof;  
       (e) 0 to 5% of an inorganic magnesium salt;  
       (f) 0.5% to 8% of water insoluble organic ester or a water insoluble material selected from the group consisting of terpenes and essential oils;  
       (g) 0 to 2% of a thickener and  
       (h) the balance being water.  
     
     
       2. The composition of  claim 1 , wherein said cosurfactant is dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether.